Traverse

Traverse Lake is in western Minnesota, north of Browns Valley on the Minnesota-South Dakota border. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks co-manage the fishery and Border Waters fishing regulations apply. The lake is 16 miles long, up to two miles wide, 11,528 acres and it has a maximum depth of 12 feet. A contour map should be studied before boating because many shallow reefs and points exist, especially near the islands and in the northwest portion of the lake. Walleyes, bluegills, channel catfish, crappies, freshwater drum, northern pike, smallmouth bass and white bass are the primary game fish anglers target. This 2025 Targeted Survey was conducted to collect routine fish population data using gill nets, seining and night electrofishing. These data can be compared to historical Standard and Targeted Survey data from Traverse Lake. Traverse Lake has been a good walleye fishery for many years. Walleye were abundant in 2025 and from a wide range of sizes, with many 13-15 inches. Walleyes grow fast in Traverse Lake and they can reach 16 inches in their third summer. Natural reproduction has been primarily responsible for maintaining the walleye population during recent years, with fry stocking making a lesser contribution. Yellow perch numbers have been stable over the last few years and anglers have been reporting better fishing for them. Many of the perch were decent sized in 2025, measuring over 10 inches. Perch grow fast in Traverse Lake but few live past their fourth summer, likely due to angler harvest and natural causes of mortality. Bluegill numbers began to increase in Traverse Lake around 2000. At times, anglers find them near rock reefs and weed lines. They grow fast and fish up to 10 inches were present in the 2025 survey. High numbers of young bluegills have frequently been present, but most of them are likely eaten by walleyes, northern pike and white bass due to limited cover. As vegetation continues to increase in the lake, the bluegill population may expand. Lake Traverse has a trophy channel catfish population with high numbers of large fish. Catfish up to 32 inches were found in the 2025 survey. A relatively low number of black and white crappies were present, however, reports of good crappie fishing have increased during recent years, with anglers catching some over 13 inches. Northern pike numbers have increased during recent years. Pike naturally reproduce in Traverse Lake and its tributaries. They can also migrate into Traverse Lake from Mud Lake during high flows. The 2025 catch rate was above average for Traverse Lake and was similar to catch rates from recent surveys. Northern pike average length was 21 inches and the largest was 33 inches. Anglers and spearers have reported catching good numbers of pike in recent years. They grow fast and die young and few pike over four years old have ever been sampled. Smallmouth bass were first caught in DNR sampling in 2012 and their numbers had increased substantially by 2022. However, since 2023, numbers have been relatively low, possibly to do a partial winterkill in 2023. Smallmouth bass probably entered the lake from downstream sources such as the Ottertail River. Smallmouth bass are becoming more abundant in many Minnesota lakes, possibly due to milder winters. Largemouth Bass have also been present in low numbers in Traverse Lake and have been increasing in recent years. Traverse Lake has often provided good fishing for white bass and freshwater drum. White bass numbers have been relatively low due to a die-off in 2018. Drum numbers were also relatively low in 2025. White bass and drum have white meat and are good to eat. Their flavor can be improved by keeping the fillets out of the slime when cleaning, and by trimming away the reddish meat from the outside of the fillets. Many good drum recipes can be found on the internet.

Traverse Lake is in western Minnesota, north of Browns Valley on the Minnesota-South Dakota border. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks co-manage the fishery and Border Waters fishing regulations apply. The lake is 16 miles long, up to two miles wide, 11,528 acres and it has a maximum depth of 12 feet. A contour map should be studied before boating because many shallow reefs and points exist, especially near the islands and in the northwest portion of the lake. Walleyes, bluegills, channel catfish, crappies, freshwater drum, northern pike, smallmouth bass and white bass are the primary game fish anglers target. This 2024 Targeted Survey was conducted to collect routine fish population data using gill nets, seining and night electrofishing. These data can be compared to historical Standard and Targeted Survey data from Traverse Lake. Traverse Lake has been a good walleye fishery for many years. Walleyes were abundant in 2024 and from a wide range of sizes, with many 14-16 inches. Walleyes grow fast in Traverse Lake and they can reach 16 inches in their third summer. Natural reproduction has been primarily responsible for maintaining the walleye population during recent years, with fry stocking making a lesser contribution. Yellow perch numbers have been increasing over the last few years and anglers have been reporting better fishing for them. Many of the perch were decent sized measuring over 10 inches in 2024. Perch grow fast in Traverse Lake but few live past their fourth summer. The 2024 bluegill catch was relatively high compared to previous surveys. Average length was eight inches and fish up to 10 inches were present. At times, anglers catch large bluegills near rock reefs and weed lines. High numbers of young bluegills have frequently been present, but most of them are likely eaten by walleyes, northern pike and white bass due to limited cover. As vegetation continues to increase in the lake, the bluegill population may expand. Lake Traverse has a trophy channel catfish population with high numbers of large fish. Channel catfish were 8-32 inches, averaging 26 inches. A moderate number of black crappies were present, and a few white crappies were found as well. Crappie numbers have increased during recent years including some over 13 inches. Northern pike numbers have increased due to a few years with good spawning conditions. Pike naturally reproduce in Traverse Lake and its tributaries. They can also migrate into Traverse Lake from Mud Lake during high flows. The 2024 catch rate was above average for Traverse Lake and was similar to catch rates from recent surveys. Northern pike average length was 22 inches and the largest was 28 inches. Anglers have reported catching good numbers of pike in recent years. They grow fast and die young and few pike over four years old have ever been sampled. Smallmouth bass were first caught in DNR sampling in 2012 and their numbers have increased substantially by 2022. Catches in 2023 and 2024 were relatively low compared to previous years possibly to do partial winterkill. Smallmouth bass probably entered the lake from downstream sources such as the Ottertail River. Smallmouth bass are becoming more abundant in many Minnesota lakes, possibly due to milder winters. Largemouth Bass have also been present in low numbers in Traverse Lake and have been increasing in recent years as well. Traverse Lake has often provided good fishing for white bass and freshwater drum. White bass numbers have been relatively low due to a die-off in 2018. Drum numbers were also relatively low in 2024. White bass and drum have white meat and are good to eat. Their flavor can be improved by keeping the fillets out of the slime when cleaning, and by trimming away the reddish meat from the outside of the fillets. Many good drum recipes can be found on the internet.

Traverse Lake is in western Minnesota, north of Browns Valley on the Minnesota-South Dakota border. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks comanage the fishery and Border Waters fishing regulations apply. The lake is 16 miles long, up to two miles wide, 11,528 acres and it has a maximum depth of 12 feet. A contour map should be studied before boating because many shallow reefs and points exist, especially near the islands and in the northwest portion of the lake. Anglers commonly target walleyes, bluegills, channel catfish, crappies, freshwater drum, northern pike, smallmouth bass and white bass. This 2023 Targeted Survey was conducted to collect routine fish population data using gill nets, shoreline seining and fall night electrofishing. These data can be compared to historical Standard and Targeted Survey data from Traverse Lake. Traverse Lake has been a good walleye fishery for many years. Walleyes were abundant in this survey with a wide range of sizes present, averaging 16 inches. Walleye growth has been very good, with the exception of the 2018 year class. Natural reproduction has been primarily responsible for maintaining the walleye population during recent years. Low numbers of yellow perch were caught but many were in the 9 to 12-inch range. Perch numbers are not likely to increase substantially unless the number of predators decreases. The bluegill catch was relatively low, but fish over 9 inches were present. Anglers have reported catching large bluegills at times near rock reefs and weed lines. High numbers of young bluegills are frequently present, but most of them are likely eaten by walleyes, northern pike and white bass due to limited cover. Lake Traverse has a trophy channel catfish population with high numbers of large fish. Channel catfish were 14-32 inches, averaging 25 inches. A moderate number of black crappies were present, plus a lower number of white crappies. Crappie numbers have increased during recent years including some up to 13 inches. Northern pike numbers have increased due to a few years with good spawning conditions. Pike naturally reproduce in Traverse Lake and its tributaries. They can also migrate into Traverse Lake from Mud Lake during high flows. The 2023 catch rate was above average for Traverse Lake and was similar to catch rates from recent surveys. Pike mean length was 21 inches and the largest was 35 inches. Anglers have reported some good catches of pike in recent years. They grow fast and die young. Few pike over four years old have ever been sampled. Smallmouth bass were first caught in DNR sampling in 2012 and their numbers had increased substanitally. It appears that many smallmouth bass may have died during the severe winter of 2022-23 and anglers reported catching very few in 2023. Smallmouth bass probably entered the lake from downstream sources such as the Ottertail River. Smallmouth bass are becoming more abundant in many Minnesota lakes, likely, in part, due to milder winters. Largemouth Bass are also found in low numbers in Traverse Lake but have been increasing in recent years as well. Traverse Lake has often provided good fishing for white bass and freshwater drum. White bass numbers have been relatively low due to a die-off in 2018. Drum numbers were moderate in 2023. White bass and drum have white meat and are good to eat. Their flavor can be improved by keeping the fillets out of the slime when cleaning, and by trimming away the reddish meat from the outside of the fillets. Many good drum recipes can be found on the internet.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Channel Catfish, Yellow Perch, Walleye, Bluegill, and Black Crappie in Traverse. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Traverse. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Traverse has a maximum depth of 12 feet and a mean depth of 9 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Traverse is from 2025.

No invasive species are on record for Traverse in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.